Their vow, their promise
by 7nmelz
Summary: Kurotomo, Kurogane/Tomoyo I swear, I'll come back. To you. Oneshot. Based on chapter 182. SPOILER ALERT!


Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. It belongs to CLAMP, the awesome manga group.

A/N: This is based on chapter 182, so read that chapter before you read this fic, or beware of spoilers! Awesome chapter, by the way. My favourite!!

AA/N: This fic is dedicated to my good friend **Ayane04.**

--Their Vow, Their Promise--

By 7nmelz

Kurogane sat by the window, staring out into the landscape he knew so well. The sun was going down behind the hills, and night was beginning to fall.

He shifted his eyes to the door.

"…Come in." he muttered.

There was a quiet rustle of fabric as Tomoyo entered the room from behind the screen.

"You noticed right away that I was here… just like always." She smiled, in her gentle way. "No matter how I tried to surprise you, no matter where I tried to hide, you would always find me right away… Kurogane."

Kurogane sighed. He didn't want to think about it, what it was like before he left Nihon country - no, before he had to leave Tomoyo.

"That's what being a shinobi's about, isn't it." He paused, looking for a good way to express what he was feeling. "Besides, no matter where you are, I always know. You, and only you."

Tomoyo smiled again in her melancholy way, and seated herself on the floor.

_She's not gonna__ leave, huh. Might as well talk, _thought Kurogane. He _did _sort of miss those times when he could tell Tomoyo everything that was troubling him.

"I heard the story from the witch. How I was about to end up being used by that Fei Wong or whatever." He said nonchalantly, as if he didn't care he was almost pushed around like a stuffed toy.

After a lengthy pause, in which Tomoyo arranged her thoughts she stated: "Even if that were the case, I don't think you would ever truly submit to anyone, now, would you?"

A pang stabbed her heart as she thought those unspoken words: _Not even me_.

She cleared her throat.

"All the time you were in this country… no matter how the empress scolded you, nor how much worry you caused to Souma, you would always persist in doing exactly what yourself wished in the end."

His lips stretched into a smirk.

"…True, that."

_I guess it's inevitable now. I promised myself I would do this, r__ight? This is something I need… _

"Hey…"

"Yes?"

"Digging up a grave… I guess that would be a sin, right?"

After another lengthy pause: "I believe it would."

"…For the fight up ahead, I'm going to need power. But… I had to leave my old sword, Ginryuu, behind."

Tomoyo's expression became unreadable, as Kurogane continued.

"No other blade will do… I need Ginryuu. The sword my father held on to, right to the end…"

She slowly got up from her position on the floor, and walked across the room to the small closet. With every step she took, she felt her heart screaming to her to stop. _No! He'll hate you forever!_

Taking a deep breath and willing herself to do their duty, she gently reached in and pull out the long, cloth-wrapped bundle. Resuming her seat on the floor, she opened her eyes in a final act of disobedience towards herself and passed it to the man sitting across from her.

Kurogane's eyes widened as he carefully unwrapped the too-familiar long sword.

"Ginryuu…" he whispered, tracing over the designs on the hilt that confirmed his suspicions.

Tomoyo clenched her hand, keeping herself from crying with guilt.

"My deepest apologies. I never placed it in your mother's grave… I kept it here with me."

Memories of when Kurogane asked her to bury the sword swept her, and she blinked back the hot tears welling up against her eyelids.

"For it was your mother who summoned me to Suwa before she passed away… and this was her last wish."

Tomoyo pushed her feelings away again, and waited for Kurogane's response.

"…Tomoyo?"

"Yes?"

"I'm… going to have to leave Nihon country once more, but… I swear, I'll come back."

_To you._

She stood up, and he knelt before her, as he had many years ago.

"And so… I make this vow once more."

The atmosphere tensed as the sacred ceremony began.

"All that I am is for my master; all that I am belongs to my master. That is my everything; that is my oath. This I swear upon my one true name… that none but my master may know."

A soft wind swept through the room, lifting Tomoyo's long, black hair as she said the final words:

"I wish you good fortune… Youou."

Slowly, she collapsed on the floor. Such a ceremony without assistance drained her of almost all of her magical power.

Quickly, Kurogane reached over and caught her before she landed. With a content smile on her sleeping face, she really looked like an angel - the angel that had saved him when he had become a demon, those many years ago.

Sighing, he gently carried her over to his bed and laid her down, covering her with the blanket. As he turned to leave, a small, fragile hand reached out and grasped his.

"Come back, okay?" whispered the half-asleep Tomoyo.

A small smile spread across the ninja's normally blank face.

"Yeah. It's a promise."

**Fin.**

Please review! I love kurotomo.


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